In this article we take you through the F1 news of Sunday 6 September 2026 so you are up to speed again. Monza delivered a red flag, a heavy shunt, a restart farce and a championship lead that has gone from contested to nearly academic, all inside two hours of racing.
Antonelli wins from P19, and the title race just about ends
Kimi Antonelli started the Italian Grand Prix nineteenth after a grid penalty and still won it, passing his own teammate late on to complete one of the great recovery drives, as told in our Monza race report. The updated championship standings now show a 66 point gap to George Russell with ten races still to go. A margin like that no longer asks whether Antonelli wins the title, only how early.
Leclerc’s Monza weekend ends in a wrecked barrier
Charles Leclerc crashed heavily at the Parabolica while fighting Oscar Piastri, triggering the red flag at Monza, and Ferrari later confirmed he was okay after the medical check. A home race that was supposed to showcase Ferrari instead showcased how quickly that promise can turn into scrap metal. The tifosi got their red flag, just not the colour of drama they wanted.
Hamilton and Leclerc’s Turn 1 clash goes unpunished
The FIA took no action over the first-lap coming together that sent Hamilton into the gravel and down to tenth. Leclerc himself later admitted the fight with his teammate had gone too far at Turn 1, which makes the stewards’ silence more notable, not less. Ferrari’s internal peace looks shakier than anything the governing body is prepared to rule on.
Russell led, then Mercedes handed the race away
Martin Brundle believes Russell must question Mercedes’ strategy after the team pitted Antonelli under a virtual safety car while leaving its own race leader out on old tyres. Russell still finished second and helped lock out the constructors’ points, but the call cost him a shot at cutting into a title fight he can barely afford to lose more ground in.
Verstappen salvages third from a straight-line problem
Max Verstappen was happy with third at Monza despite a deployment issue that let both Mercedes drivers simply drive past him. Red Bull had the pace to lead a lap, not to keep it, and that gap is exactly the kind of straight-line weakness Monza was always going to expose.
Colapinto’s near-podium ends in the Lesmo gravel
Franco Colapinto briefly ran third before losing the rear at Lesmo and recovering only to ninth. Alpine’s best weekend of the season turned into another lesson in how thin the margin is between a career highlight and a wasted afternoon.
Tsunoda’s point survives a restart scare
Yuki Tsunoda’s tenth place was briefly in jeopardy before stewards cleared his restart infringement, reversing the threat raised by the earlier grid inquiry. A single point will not save his stand-in stint, but at Monza it counted as a rescue mission completed.
Aston Martin’s day ends with two retirements
Both Aston Martins retired inside the first half of the race, capping a miserable Monza weekend that already included pit lane demotions for Alonso and Lawson. Monza has a habit of exposing a slow car mercilessly, and this one had nowhere left to hide.
Norris softens his tune on the late Piastri scrap
Lando Norris called Piastri’s move in their late fight for fourth fair after climbing out of the car, a marked change from his radio complaints mid-battle. Adrenaline said one thing, the cooler verdict afterwards said another, and McLaren gets to file this one away without drama.
Vettel’s F2002 run steals the emotional headlines
Sebastian Vettel drove Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari F2002 around Monza and left fans in bits before the race even started. Grid penalties and stewards’ inquiries came and went, but the loudest reaction of the weekend belonged to a twenty-year-old engine note.
Attention now turns to whatever the paddock makes of Monza’s fallout before the next round, with the F1 calendar showing where the title fight heads next.
